I assembled the strongest swordsman group

Because of the height difference between the two, after Kinoshita Mai buried her head so low that her chin was almost touching Kinoshita Mai's collarbone, Aoto, who was standing in front of her, could only see her hair and not her face.

However, although he couldn't see Kinoshita Mai's face, Aoto could see her two small ears.

Just now, Kinoshita Mai's earlobes were only red, but now, her entire ear has turned a beautiful pink.

Even the ears are so red... Qingdeng can hardly imagine what color the child's face has turned now.

Aoto felt that if he didn't say or do something quickly, Kinoshita Mai's cheeks might get even hotter...

"...Don't worry." Qing Deng breathed a sigh of relief. "I won't tell anyone what I just saw."

Qing Deng has never been a big mouth.

Revealing other people's secrets to the public—this is something Qing Deng dislikes and will never do.

Moreover, even if he wanted to tell someone about Kinoshita Mai's silly behavior just now, he had no one to talk to, since he and Kinoshita Mai didn't have any friends in common.

Kinoshita Mai did not react to Aoto's words.

She just kept blushing and hanging her head.

Qing Deng wondered if Kinoshita Mai hadn't heard what he had just said, and was about to repeat himself when—

"……Thanks……"

A soft voice, so faint it seemed it might disappear at any moment, drifted gently into Qingdeng's ears.

Kinoshita Mai, who had been pressing her chin tightly against her collarbone, finally slowly raised her head.

Kinoshita Mai's cheeks were still so red that it seemed as if blood might seep out at any moment.

Her lips remained tightly pressed together.

However, there was a slight, shy curve at the corner of her mouth.

********

********

New book sets sail!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please recommend this book! Please add this book to your favorites!

Chapter 42 Kinoshita Mai's Friends

After promising Kinoshita Mai that she would never tell anyone about her embarrassing behavior, the child's appearance finally began to return to normal.

The blush on her cheeks faded slightly.

There was no longer any "steam" coming out of their heads.

Since Aoto and Kinoshita Mai happened to be going the same way and both wanted to leave this path, the two naturally walked side by side.

The atmosphere between the two was...uncomfortable beyond anything seen before.

Still reeling from the "meow meow meow" incident, and having only met Qing Deng once, Kinoshita Mai clutched the large cloth bag in her arms, its contents unknown. Her shoulders were hunched, her head drooped, her lips were tightly pressed together, and her cheeks were still flushed, her nervousness and embarrassment clearly visible.

Kinoshita Mai remained silent, and Aoto didn't know what to say to her either.

Qingdeng is terrible at interacting with girls.

In my previous life, due to various reasons such as my upbringing and personality, I didn't even have a single female friend, let alone a girlfriend.

My experience with women is practically nonexistent.

However, although he has no female friends, he has a lot of male friends whose arms and waists are all incredibly thick and whose biceps are all incredibly large.

Because he had never made any female friends or had any sisters or other relatives, Qing Deng was extremely bad at getting along with women.

I had absolutely no idea what to talk to them about, or what they liked to talk about.

Furthermore, Hara Tachibana Aoto's memories contained absolutely no knowledge or recollection of anything related to "topics that girls of this era liked to talk about"...

If they just kept talking to this child, the atmosphere would be so awkward it would be suffocating... Not wanting the atmosphere to stay awkward like this, Qing Deng glanced at Kinoshita Mai out of the corner of his eye while racking his brains for a suitable topic.

I glanced at Kinoshita Mai out of the corner of my eye for a while, but the topic didn't come up and my thoughts drifted elsewhere.

—Upon closer inspection…this girl is indeed very cute…

I was in a rush at the Senjiya the day before yesterday, so I didn't have time to take a good look at the girl's appearance.

Only after a closer look did I realize that the child's appearance was indeed outstanding.

Her smooth black hair was styled into the most popular hairstyle for women of this era: the Shimada bun.

She was wearing a kimono with bright red as the main color and white as the embellishment. For no reason, I always felt that this kind of red clothing suited her very well.

Eyebrows, nose, mouth, eyes... all the lines on her face were so beautiful and delicate.

However, compared to her cute face, her skin and breasts are obviously more eye-catching.

She had perfectly fair and soft skin, so fair that it seemed as if even if you threw a rough piece of sandpaper at her face, it would slide off her smooth skin.

She was so young, at most 15 or 6 years old, but her development was surprisingly good.

Kimono is a type of clothing that can make D look like C, C look like B, B look like A, and A look like a cross-dresser.

Despite wearing clothes that made the child appear too small, the chest area still looked quite full.

Kinoshita Mai has slender arms and legs; if you didn't see it with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that someone with such a delicate figure could have such a magnificent chest.

As Qing Deng was still silently admiring and praising Kinoshita Mai's beauty, suddenly—he heard Kinoshita Mai's unique, soft voice, like the hum of a mosquito, coming from beside him again.

The first to break the suffocating silence was surprisingly the shy Kinoshita Mai:

"Um... I'm sorry... You've been to our store before, but I don't know your name..."

Ah...right...the day before yesterday at the Thousand Things Shop, I think I only introduced myself to Mr. Kiryu...

After silently cursing himself for being careless, Qingdeng cleared his throat:

"Sorry, I think I've been forgetting to tell you my name."

"My name is Tachibana Aoto, and I am currently serving as a public servant in Hokuban-sho-sada-cho."

"Ju Qingdeng?"

Kinoshita Mai tilted her head back, giving Aoto a long, curious look.

"What's wrong?" Aoto asked, puzzled as to why Kinoshita Mai was looking at him like that.

"Ah...nothing..."

When Aoto turned his gaze towards her, Kinoshita Mai, who was too shy to meet his eyes, quickly lowered her head again, looking at her small toes covered in white socks, and continued softly:

"When I went to the clothing store to pick up my traditional clothing just now, I heard some people talking about you inside..."

"They say: a man named Tachibana Seiden solved a murder case yesterday in less than an hour..."

[Note: Gofuku refers to kimono. The term "kimono" did not exist in ancient Japan.]

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng chuckled, "So that's how it is... Has yesterday's events spread so quickly throughout the city...?"

"I never imagined you were Tachibana Aoto..." Aoto vaguely saw a hint of admiration in Kinoshita Mai's smile. "You're amazing! You solved the clan murder case in less than an hour..."

"Ah, I was just lucky," Qingdeng said casually with a smile.

Although they only exchanged a few words with Kinoshita Mai, these few words successfully eased the awkward atmosphere between them. Kinoshita Mai's previously tense shoulders relaxed a lot, and her voice became louder and clearer.

Taking advantage of the improved atmosphere between the two, Qing Deng pressed his advantage.

Kinoshita Mai's words just now gave him a very good starting point for the conversation—

"You just said you went to the kimono shop to pick up your kimono. So, is this cloth bag you're holding right now the clothes you just picked up from the shop?" Qing Deng gestured with his lips toward the cloth bag that Kinoshita Mai was holding in both hands.

Kinoshita Mai nodded: "This is a gift I prepared for my friend."

"friend?"

“Yes, I have a very important friend who and her grandfather are moving from Osaka to Edo for a while because of some things.” Kinoshita Mai, still staring intently at her toes, said slowly, “If nothing unexpected happens, they should arrive in Edo in about ten days.”

"Tomorrow I will leave Edo to meet them at Fujisawa-juku on the Tokaido."

"I was initially worried that the Wu-style clothing I prepared for my friend wouldn't be ready in time..."

"Fortunately, the clothing shop managed to finish making my custom-made clothing before tomorrow."

"You're going to go all the way out of the city to Fujisawa-juku to meet your friend?" Qing Deng exclaimed in a low voice.

To come all this way from outside the city to greet you... that's going to the extreme with all the formalities.

"Hmm...after all, she's my most important friend." Kinoshita Mai gave a shy smile mixed with excitement and anticipation.

*******

*******

New book sets sail!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please recommend this book! Please add this book to your favorites!

Chapter 43 Bushido is a pile of shit

After chatting briefly with Kinoshita Mai for a while, the two finally left the path that would likely leave a huge psychological scar on Kinoshita Mai for the rest of her life.

“I’m going this way next…” Kinoshita Mai pointed to the left-hand intersection.

"Ah, well, we'll have to go our separate ways then. I'm heading this way next." Qingdeng pointed to the right-hand intersection. "May we meet again someday?"

"Hmm..." Kinoshita Mai, whose shy expression hadn't faded and who had barely looked directly at Aoto the entire time, nodded. "Goodbye..."

After saying goodbye to Kinoshita Mai and parting ways, Aoto, supporting the sword at his waist, continued to patrol the area under his jurisdiction.

And just as Aoto and Kinoshita Mai parted ways—

……

……

The North District Office, the office space in the East District—

"Lord Dongcheng, did you call me?"

Nishino opened the door and quickly entered the room.

Nishino, who had no cases to handle today, was just about to head to his assigned area for inspection.

Just as he was about to leave the North Zone, he suddenly received a summons from his superior, Dongcheng, and had to hurry to Dongcheng's office.

Upon entering his boss's office, Nishino saw his boss, Toujou, sitting cross-legged behind his usual desk, looking seriously at something in his hands.

At first glance, one might think Dongcheng is looking at some important document and working diligently.

But in reality... the thing he was looking at so intently was a special picture that was always in high demand among men...

Dongcheng is looking at this painting, the kind that's really outrageous: the female protagonist is a voluptuous young woman, and the male protagonist is a giant octopus...

He was looking at it intently, while using one hand to pick at his toes. After picking at his toes, he used the same hand to blow his nose...

"Hmm...hmm..." Dongcheng kept making deep murmurs as he looked at the painting in his hand. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was admiring some masterpiece.

Upon seeing Nishino arrive, Toujou's face immediately broke into a broad smile.

"Oh! Nishino, you're here!"

Dongcheng casually tossed the drawing in his hand onto the table right in front of Xiye without any hesitation.

Nishino, as if he had seen this all along, asked calmly:

"Lord Dongcheng, what brings you here?"

"I have something important to tell you." Dongcheng yawned widely. "But before we get down to business, let's chat for a bit first."

After saying that, Dongcheng raised the corner of his mouth.

"How does it feel to have the case in Kimyuu-cho snatched away by that Tachibana Aoto yesterday?"

Nishino was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly regained his usual (￣︿￣) cold expression.

"To be honest—I'm very unhappy."

"Last night I was so depressed that I ate less than a few bowls of rice at dinner."

"But I must admit that in handling yesterday's case, I was completely defeated by Tachibana Seiden, and I accept the defeat wholeheartedly."